Generally described, computing devices and communication networks facilitate the collection and exchange of information. In a common application, computing devices, such as personal computing devices, can utilize a wide area communication network, generally referred to as the Internet, to access content or other data from other computing devices associated with content providing entities. The specific design/function of each computing device can vary the type of content exchanged between the computing devices.
Users can request data from a content providing entity so that the content is delivered to one or more computing devices in a relatively “real time” basis. For example, users can request content from a network resource (e.g., a Web site, Web service, or cloud node) for immediate presentation on a computing device display screen, or they can request the immediate transfer of content, such as a document or data file, from a network resource or Web service for storage on the computing device. In another example, users can transmit a request, or initiate a transaction, that results in the downloading or streaming of content to a computing device. Typically, the content providing entity would initiate the transfer upon receipt of the request from the computing device.
In some instances, limited portions of electronic content, such as an electronic book (“e-book”) or an audio book, may be provided to customers as a content sample of the complete content. Acquisition of a content sample may be associated with lower requirements than acquisition of the corresponding complete content. For example, a content sample may be provided free of charge. As such, content samples may enable a customer to better assess whether to acquire the complete content.
In one application, various computing devices associated with a user or a user account have access to different representations of companion content. For example, a user may utilize a computing device such as an e-book reader that has obtained a digital representation of content (e.g., an e-book) or other digital publication that can be presented on an e-book reader via a communication network (e.g., a wireless communication network). This content may be referred to as a “first” content. The same user may also utilize a computing device such as a laptop that has obtained a separate companion representation of the same or similar content (e.g., an audio book that can be audibly presented via headphones/speakers and that corresponds to the e-book obtained by the user's e-book reader). This content may be referred to as a “second” content. The second content may be obtained at a different time and/or from a different source than the first content. As a result, the first content and the second content can be decoupled from one another, and additional features related to the synergy of the first content and the second content (collectively, the “companion content”) are not readily available to computing devices utilized by the user or associated with the user's account maintained by a content provider.